If I were to tell my wife that we needed new tires when the truck isn't even done yet, well I just would be afraid to tell her that. So? even if the rubber and tread show no signs of age or cracks, and they by all outward appearances look close to new with no signs of cracks or rot, and are garaged when not in use, Am I supposed to toss them out every couple of years? Im not trying to be sarcastic, I really want an honest answer, as I've never herd that B4. I can fully understand if a tire shows signs of rot or cracking do to ozone or other sources of damage.

 

The tire manufactures want you to get new ones. I wouldn't worry if there are no signs of cracks. Cracks could develop after use though, due to flexing. Most of the newer tires develop dry rot just sitting, especially if exposed to the sun.

 

I had a spare tire on my boat trailer I never even used blow up one day while we were in camp. It was freekin loud!


I have to admit it had been in the AZ. heat and sun for about 8 years when it happened. It was a Goodyear Marathon Radial. It was mounted on a bracket on the front side of the trailer. It still looked new. It split wide open across the tread.


I was a nervous wreck driving home. I don't like buying tires either but, I got 5 new ones before next lake trip.


When I sold my boat I told the buyer the tires were old and he may want to get some new ones before hauling it all the way to Sacramento. He said they look fine and made some sarcastic comment.


It was a friend's brother that bought it. He later told me a tire blew and ripped off a fender.


Like some other's have said. Use your best judgment. Being in a cooler climate and having had them indoors may be OK in this case.

 

This is a very interesting thread, and definitely one not to be taken lightly. I have heard of guys using something other than air to inflate there tires, I think maybe nitrogen Im not sure, but would that practice be to slow the deterioration of the rubber, or for another reason? I just had a visual of a blow out while driving an F1 on a freeway with stock suspension, and it was not pretty. I cant afford new tires right now so Im not going to say Ill get right on it, but I will definitely be replacing tires more often than I have in the past. Good information guys, thank you.

 

Living on this island, our top speed limit is 40 mph, with most areas less than that. Also the sun doesn't show itself a lot in the Pacific Northwest so over the years I have been pretty lax about driving on really old tires. Last winter I was airing up a couple of 7.50 x 17s on multi-piece wheels which were on a tonner I had just gotten from Minnesota. I put 40 lbs in the right front and went to the other side to do the same. 30 seconds later, HUGE EXPLOSION! It was really. really loud like a 12 gauge. Inside sidewall all blown out. I got the newer good ones I had on there the next day. Flash forward six months and I hauled home a rolling chassis from the same type of truck. It was just a light chassis and the old tires so stiff, I just wanted to air them up a bit to make sure I could roll it around the place. Went for a rear tire and couldn't find my round dial gauge so used an old pen style with a square plastic shaft out the back. It was a cheap old one with a chrome plated plastic body, like model parts. Like a Globemaster from the bin. This tire showed 5 lbs, so I put the chuck on it and it was odd that I didn't hear much air transfering. I kept going a while and checked it again. About 8 lbs. So I went some more until at some point it was silent with no air noise. What the heck? Clogged valve stem? Never heard of a tire that wouldn't take air. I was now at 10#. I put the globemaster on my equipment trailer tire as the truck chassis was still on the trailer. I keep about 80 # in these. Well it registered less than 10...... I spent the extra time to find my dial air gauge and the trailer tire had 80#. I put it on the ancient Sieberling rayon cord 17 that was at chest height to me and it pegged the dial at 100#!!!! All along it was the gauge. I can only assume the 17 had whatever my compressor was adjusted to, which is about 120#. I realize I was truly seconds from death or certain disaster. It is beyond my comprehension how it didn't blow. I shudder every time I think of it. I smashed the old gauge with a hammer. I then took a piece of 3/16 rod bent at the end and stood aside while letting the air out. I guess I could have shot it with my 22, but I was impressed about what a good roller tire it would be with 20 lbs in it and I'm cheap. This could just be my longest post ever..... Moral is sometimes an old tire is still worthy for certain duty, sometimes definately not, but old .99 cent tire gauges should be replaced every 3 years or never bought in the first place. OK, I'm done now.

 

Vehicles registered as Antique are very limited on how and when they can be driven

 

What Tire Dood said about date codes is correct. Been in the wholesale tire business since '83. As for the weather checking, the sidewall rubber is there to keep the weather away from the body plys. The plys, or cord, are the strength of the tire. The rubber has very little strength by itself. Once cracks form in the rubber, weather can attack the sidewall and tread plys and the tire will start to weaken. The body plys, whether cotton, polyester, rayon, nylon or steel, will be affected by the elements. Tread cracking on a steel belted radial, will result in the steel rusting. None of this is good for the integrity of the tire. That's not to say that the tire will fail immediately, it may provide service for years if you're lucky. But what if you're not lucky?

 

Somebody somewhere said that truck tires parked outside on dirt or mud for long periods don't last as long as those parked on concrete. If true, it may be that the tires absorb some water, or moisture infiltrates into the belts this way. Along this train of thinking tires that require frequent inflation - and tend to buildup significant water condensation inside the tire - may be an issue as well. This is one advantage nitrogen has for a tire fill, it is completely dry and inert. Seems to me the big tires can have an awful lot of water inside, and would tend to throw the balance way off, especially in freezing weather.

The new proposed tire-replacement is something like every six years, not three. Tire shops are supposedly refusing to mount tires over ten? I dunno. The NHTSB tire study and subsequent recommendation was based on tires in Arizona, direct sunlight and heat definitely makes a difference.

Keep tires off the ground, and out of sunlight may help prolong life. Radial tires are known to look OK, and yet fail suddenly in a different manner than the old bias-ply, who'd a thunk it, right?

 

I don't like to over post on a thread, but Im making an exception on this thread because to me it's a real eye opener. I just read all the stuff on google pertaining to this subject besides what has been shared here on FTE, and Im a believer. Now I just need to figure a way how and when to act on the info. Here is one link of the many that vary slightly, but I picked because its by a name you may be familiar with. Thanks again for great information.How Old - and Dangerous - Are Your Tires?

 

Steelbelted radial tires don't a absorb water but the cracks in the rubber allow the water to get to the steel belts (obviously more water will get to them in the dirt vs pavement) which causes them to rust from the outside, on the farm we have tires of all ages and I haven't ever seen a tire crack internally and only have seen exposed insides from punctures... Nitrogen filling the tires is a hoax for that but it does appear that it leaks out slower than air.... Possibly a positive for some people but it's not going to affect tire life.

 

What I meant by that is nitrogen from the tank is dry. That part isn't a scam, just an observation.

Normally air compressors introduce quite a bit of moisture into the tire, at least over time, when they need frequent topping off. It's been a while since I've changed a lot of big tires but it seems to me they quite a few had maybe a gallon in some of the tires when we broke them down.

Just spitballin', but if there were any breaks or inclusions or whatever on the inside of a tire, that would be a great way for steel belts to rust too.

The 64 has a set of Wranglers that have plenty of tread on them, I just rotated them and inspected close. And the truck has been garaged, but they are approaching 20 years old. There's something to be said about peace of mind. Of course, with some of the overseas junk these days the new ones might be worse. It's possible.

New ones may smooth out the ride some. Thinking of maybe new rims as well. Technically speaking, bias-ply rims aren't rated for the sidewall pressures that modern radials produce.